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Brogan Kilvayne
Brogan Kilvayne is an old soul, a warrior from a time long past. He has seen many things, and is trying to make his way in the modern world. Brogan values freedom above all else. Personality Brogan is an old soul, and believes in the deeply spiritual nature of the Earth. He holds ancient gods sacred, as well as what he calls "new gods". He sees the natural elements as manifestations of the will of the spiritual universe. He pays respect to the gods of many cultures, as he has known them all intimately. Brogan believes strongly in a code of honor. In war, a man should treat his opponent with respect, and fight fairly. He prefers to never raise his sword against a woman and he doesn't strike down the defenseless. He does not cower away from a fight, and he fights bravely. He gives no quarter, and he expects none from his enemy. If he makes a deal with someone, his word is his bond. Brogan knows war above all else, perhaps to the exclusion of all else. He is prone to violent outbursts, and he tends toward aggressive behavior rather than to be calm and passive. He savors battle and bloodshed, as he would savor a premium cut of steak. He was born in a world of sheer brutality, a culture where only the strongest survived. He continually found himself in roles that enforced this mentality, to where he was conditioned for violence and warfare. This may also be linked to his body's high production of adrenaline. Brogan feels a connection to the primal forces of nature. He tends to prefer spending time in the wilderness or among "primitive" cultures rather than among "civilized" people and cities. He has been known to spend time in both world's, however. He has a love of hunting, camping in the forest, and fishing. He often wears animal skins, despite them being somewhat out of fashion in the present day. Brogan enjoys a party, and contests of strength and fortitude. He will challenge anyone to a drinking contest, hoping to find a worthy contender. He also loves to wrestle, box and other combat oriented challenges. Brogan tends to be the life of any party, as he loves to eat, drink, dance, and fight. Brogan believes himself to be the son of a god, even though most would have to dispute that claim on the basis of facts and logical reasoning. As such, he is likely to view himself as being above mortal humans. He will make unreasonable demands, and expect people to do what he needs them to do, simply because he figures they should fear him. Brogan believes that no one can defeat him, and that he is immortal. He views those weaker than himself as people that require his protection, or as people that have little value to him. He also believes that he is above human concepts such as morality. Brogan does what he wants, regardless of whatever it is what conventional views would dictate he should do. Abilities Metabolic Acceleration Brogan's body is blessed with the godsend of Metabolic Acceleration. This means that his body's natural processes are constantly on overdrive, working much faster than any normal human's body can. When he is injured, his body recovers from that injury much quicker than it normally would, in an average human. His wounds tend to heal up in minutes, leaving no scars. He can regenerate lost appendages in several hours, provided he rests up, and has ample food. Essentially, his body produces hormones that control cell growth in an overdrive capacity. He is almost constantly producing new body cells, and his metabolism is incredibly fast. He needs to eat a lot to keep up with his body's functioning, or he will see his organ systems begin to fail. In a given day, he must consume approximately five thousand calories of food at a bare minimum. He can regenerate damage to bodily organs,even fully regenerating whole organs (other than his heart or brain) though it can take an entire day (as in twenty four hours) or more depending on the severity of the damage. If his entire heart or brain is destroyed, he cannot regenerate, and he will die. In most other situations, he can "resurrect" after being seemingly dead. Again, this is not the case when his heart or brain has been utterly destroyed. These organs need some existent tissue with which to replicate cells and regenerate the damaged area. Because his cells are always in a state of renewal, without deterioration, he has been able to live far beyond the usual lifespan of a human without aging. In fact, he seems to have stopped aging at around the age of thirty one, eighteen years after he first manifested this ability. His immune response is also a lot faster than a normal human's, and he can thus fight off infectious diseases at a much greater rate than an average human. He is not immune to disease, rather he has a very active and strong immune system that prevents serious harm or fatalities from disease. He could very well encounter a disease capable of overrunning his defenses, it simply hasn't yet. As another facet of this ability, Brogan cannot become intoxicated by the consumption of alcohol, nor do poisons cause him harm. His body processes toxins to the point that they are neutralized or excreted in urine much faster than in other people. This is all possible because of the acceleration of his metabolism providing ample amounts of energy to expend in all of these processes. Since metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen inside an organism for that organism to live, and his is running in essentially perfect efficiency at an optimal speed, the processing of energy by his cells is astounding. There are essentially two components of this. First is catabolism, the breaking down of organic matter to gain the energy required to perform bodily functioning. The second is anabolism, which is the use of energy to construct cellular "building blocks", such as nucleic acids and proteins. Adrenaline Frenzy Additionally, he has an interesting ability that activates when his body releases adrenaline. He flies into a berserk frenzied state, that alters his physical abilities significantly. Rather than take the flight response, his disposition seems to lean toward fighting. His aggression levels soar when his body releases adrenaline, and he becomes bestial in his fury. The benefits of this frenzied state are essentially heightened physical abilities. His strength approaches superhuman levels, with him being able to lift large objects, up to the mass of a midsize sedan automobile. His endurance becomes incredible, and he can receive grievous wounds as if they were the bite of mosquitoes, and remain undaunted in his assault. His speed is much greater as well, as he can run up to twenty miles per hour in this state. The downside, the frenzy is extremely temporary, and leaves him fatigued after the adrenaline has been expended. The frenzy lasts between ten minutes and an hour, depending on how agitated Brogan is. The severity of fatigue is directly proportional to the duration of the frenzy. Background Classical Antiquity Brogan was born thousands of years ago, in the ancient city of Knossos on the Greek isle of Crete. His parents named him Athanasios, a name that would seem prophetic in hindsight. For he had been born with a blessing from the gods. It was rumored he was the son of Zeus himself, and an immortal demigod. When he was young his gift was revealed, in a contest with the other boys of Knossos. He was racing the boys, and he tripped upon a loose pavement stone. He fell to the ground, and received what would have been a scar on the skin of a boisterous young boy. But moments after the wound was sustained, it had healed. The boy was fiercely hungry, and he came upon a dining family. He devoured their food, and felt strong. He fled the scene as the guards pursued him for his thievery. They could not keep up. Something had taken hold, and he was faster than he imagined he could ever be. He also felt that it wasn't enough to escape for some reason. He needed to fight. Adrenaline was sending him into a frenzied state, and he turned to face his pursuers. He drew out the sword his father had given him, and ran toward the guards, cutting them down where they stood. From that moment, he knew his destiny was to be the greatest warrior in the world. This came to be his belief, as he soon started to think it was true what they said. He was a god made flesh, the son of Zeus who ruled on high. This caused him to clash with his father many times, before he was eventually driven from Knossos. His father banished him from the household for his hubris. He took the name Athanasios Diogenes, forsaking his father's name. He traveled the Greek islands and mainland, seeking fortune as a sword for hire. By this time, he was eighteen years old and had been trained in the arts of combat.He was strong enough to defeat his enemies, and sharp of mind to learn from each battle he found himself in. He became an experienced warrior by the time he was in his thirties. He also stopped aging at this point, and met a woman who became enamored of him. Her name was Euphrasia, and she was a woman of Sparta. He trained in the Spartan way, to fight as a Spartan hoplite. Euphrasia became his bride, and she bore several children. But in a nightmare brought by something the man didn't understand, he was sent into frenzy as adrenaline pumped in him. He became like a demon, and slew his wife before coming back to the reality, the horror he had caused. He left Sparta, ashamed of what he had done. His eldest son, Lykos, had by this time grown into a man, and he was left in charge of the household. From Sparta he traveled to Athens, and for centuries became involved in the political drama that defined that area. He witnessed wars against Spartans and Persians, and the bravery of Athens against the odds. He fought in the Peloponesian wars, and the Persian wars, fighting for Athens and all of Greece. He dwelt there for many ages of man, until a young ruler named Alexander of Macedon called warriors to his banner. Brogan became a trusted warrior under the command of the king who history would know forever as Alexander the Great. He campaigned against the Persian Empire, to build Alexander's vision of a Greek world. The Hellenistic age had begun. That age eventually ended, and Brogan found himself living in a new world- a Roman world. He lived among the Romans, assuming the Latin name Lucius Caelius Athanasius. He established a line of Romans who became something akin to nobility, and he himself was a centurion in the legions of many powerful Romans, such as G. Iulius Caesar and Octavian Caesar, who would become the Emperor Augustus. He continued to be a warrior, even as the Fall of Rome had begun. The Empire had been divided along east/west lines, and barbarians overran the west, eventually sacking Rome itself. He was enamored with the Germanic warriors that had brought the Roman Empire to its knees. He traveled among them, and learned of the lands of their origins. Middle Ages Brogan lived among the Franks, Goths and Visigoths for a time. He saw the rise of Frankish power in the region once known as Gaul, and fought alongside the legendary founder of the Merovingian line, Merovech. He was central in the conflicts that tore apart that dynasty, and later fought alongside Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours against Muslim warriors. As Charlemagne built his power, Brogan began to grow discontent with the way the world had changed. He had known the ancient gods for centuries, and the Christian faith had survived the fall of the Roman Empire. He knew the old ways were dying. He sought out lands where they survived, and found himself among the Saxons. Charlemagne followed on his heels, and soon a period of war began for control of Saxony. He had grown by this time comfortable in the worship of the Saxon gods, despite being born to the Greek gods, and having been worshiping the Roman gods for centuries. To him, they were the gods that lived, and he hungered to hold on to these primal forces. It was among the Saxons that Brogan took the name he now prefers above all others. Brogan participated in a valiant series of battles for the old ways, but it inevitably failed. This was a lesson to the man. He could not fight the changing of the world; rather he had to adapt to the march of time. He married a woman named Aefentid, and she bore him three sons. These were mighty Saxon warriors that themselves married and had sons, carrying on the line, as the Saxon people joined the Holy Roman Empire that Charlemagne had forged. His sons were Tolucan, Banan, and Beadwof Bronson. His sons became nobles in the newly forged empire, and Brogan was seemingly overcome with wanderlust. Brogan assumed his sons and their sons would be content to accept the new ways more readily than him, but he longed to find corners of the world that still had that primal connection to the past. He found himself in the northern lands, where the gods he knew among the Saxons were venerated. They had different names, but they were familiar to him. He embraced the life of the Norsemen, and became a Viking warrior in Norway. In this life he gained much plunder and won great renown. He came to rule a fiefdom in Normandy, a region of France that was conquered by Norwegian and Dutch vikings. Among the Norwegian vikings he was known as Eilif . When William of Normandy undertook to conquer Britain, Brogan followed. He was present at the Battle of Hastings. In the following years, he managed to push his own army into Scotland, where he took over lands and built himself a castle city that he named Kilvayne. He took the name Brogan once more, and assumed the title Lord Kilvayne. He had accrued much wealth throughout centuries of conquest, and he deposited what he had with him in magnificent vaults below the castle's keep. His treasuries were great, and he ruled his fiefdom with an iron fist. By now, Brogan finally converted to Christianity, and soon found himself entangled in the war for the Holy Land. He remained uninvolved for the first two Crusades, but he did join the fight during King Richard's Crusade. He fought under the banner of the English king against the forces of Saladin, and earned recognition on the battlefield for his prowess and valor. To Brogan, it was just another war. He lived for a time in his Scottish castle, and took a wife, a Spanish woman named Esmeralda Cervantes. Esmeralda bore him sons, who bore the Kilvayne surname. His eldest son, Roderick Kilvayne succeeded his father when the children were fully grown. By that point, Esmeralda had died, and Brogan hungered to know what her homeland was like. He traveled to Spain in 1492, the very year that the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus set sail on his fateful expedition. He took the name Cesar Cervantes, and became a conquistador during the Spanish exploration period. He made his way to the New World, and battled the Aztecs. He explored the New World, as the Modern Age began. Modern Age Brogan witnessed the sacrifice of humans to the gods of the Aztecs, and was awe stricken. Ancient gods lived in this world, and it was something he wanted to know more of. Abandoning his Spanish comrades, he set out beyond the borders of the Aztec empire and began to explore the lands to the north- the continent that would one day become the United States. He lived among the ancient native tribes, first encountering the Hopi and Navajo peoples. During this time, Brogan shed his European names, his Spanish armor, and his attachment to his former lives, longing once more to embrace a primal existence. During his time among the Hopi, he had a recurrence of his old nightmare, and in the night slew his Hopi lover, and her family. He fled, and came among the Navajo. Here, he found solace in a tradition of the Navajo people- the Blessing Way. At this point, c. 1600 ACE, Brogan decided to return to England. He traveled through the wilderness of the American southwest, and stowed away on a ship leaving the English colonies that had been established by this time. The ship was harbored near Jamestown, Virginia. Brogan had been surprised to learn that the English crown had come to the Americas, and it was to his benefit. He had assumed that his only recourse would be to go to Spain, then to England. His return to England proved interesting. His descendants there had found themselves in Parliament's House of Lords. He managed to convince his descendant, Lord Edward Kilvayne that he was a long lost family member, by the name of Athanasius Kilvayne. He had been prospecting in the New World, when he was captured by "savages", as the story had turned out. It oddly mirrored his own story...except Brogan would not call the native people of any place "savages". He had more respect for primal living than modern living, and that was something he knew to keep a secret in the new England he had come to live in. He decided that he intended to entertain himself as an investor in the East India Company. He invested what money he was entitled to, according to the family standards, and started his career as a merchant and businessman. Another descendant of his, Henry James Kilvayne traveled to the colony of New York, and established there the Kilvayne Shipping Company. Henry made a small fortune himself, and dominated the trade from that colony to England. Meanwhile, Brogan traveled to India to oversee the growth of the influence held there by the EIC. He found some excitement in the politics of controlling India in the interest of the EIC. He became involved with wars and diplomatic endeavors with the Mughal dynasty, while soaking up the culture and history of India. He had seen this land only once before, when he traveled among the armies of Alexander the Great. In India he encountered a woman, Elena Rainier, who changed his view of the East India Company. She had the wisdom of ages, and the beauty of youth. They had a passionate tryst, and many impassioned debates about the events unfolding around him. She opened his eyes to the dishonor inherent in the game of colonization and exploitation. Ashamed, he vowed to do something to atone for these sins. He arranged for her to travel to England, and upon arrival determined they should part ways. He never saw the opportunity in England, so he left that nation, disgusted with its inner workings. He left the evils of exploitation and tyranny to his descendants. It wasn't for him. He found his chance in the 1770's as the spirit of revolution came to the English colonies. Now was his opportunity to atone for the sins he had committed in India. He signed up for Washington's Continental Army and fought as a Revolutionary by the name of Nathaniel Cox. His role in the war was as one of many brave men who fought for independence. When the new nation came to be, Brogan was pleased that he had been apart of something fundamentally good. He established a home on an island in Virginia, and his estate there was known as Cox Head. Due to a clerical error, the name was rendered Cock's Head. Brogan found himself drawn into a war for the fledgling United States once again, in 1812. The English had engaged in practices that were meant to weaken the young nation, and American forces struck out, igniting a war. He took up arms and defended the nation he felt he had a stake in building. It was a strange thing, for a man of many nations to have invested so much in a nation younger than any he had known. He learned many things about folly and courage in this conflict, and the people of the country were raised up by the ultimate victory. Brogan was just glad the nation had endured. He took up peaceful residence in his estate on the island, and was unperturbed by war for many years. In this time of peace, Brogan contemplated many things, from the writings of an Englishman named Charles Darwin to the manifesto of a philosopher from Germany, by the name of Karl Marx. He had never been so taken with simply indulging in the pursuit of knowledge. He was a prominent voice in the abolition movement that had begun to take hold in the US at this time. He compared the plight of slaves in the American South to what he had been doing in India, and he had concluded that it was as honor-less to own a slave as it was to subjugate a people for resources. Brogan came to a moral dilemma. There was nothing he hated more than a moral dilemma. The state that he was a citizen of had eventually joined with the movement to secede from the United States, and he was likely to be called to serve in the armies of the Confederate government. He could not in good conscience do this, after his years of pondering the many evils of the world. He fled the state of Virginia, and took the identity of Athanasius Kilvayne and joined the Union army. He fought in many key battles, notably the battle at Gettysburg. The next few years were filled with violence and war, and Brogan began to wonder if he would ever escape the fate of battle. After the American Civil war concluded, Brogan traveled to Japan, which was in the final stages of westernization, leading up to the Meiji Restoration. He went among the samurai, who were fighting for the preservation of the shogunate. He learned their ways, and the martial arts of kenjutsu and jujutsu. He did not actively participate in any battles, as this wasn't his fight. He had come as a scholar, to learn something that was likely to be lost in the world. He wanted no part of war, not if he could avoid it. He wanted to see if he could live a life without violence. He returned to America before the turn of the century, with his knowledge of Japan and its culture in his heart. He laughed the day he read the news that the East India Company had been dissolved. Another empire fallen in his lifetime, it was as though the gods had a strange sense of humor. Brogan became disenfranchised with this new America. The latter part of the century had seen atrocities committed against the native people he had loved once, culminating in the massacre at Wounded Knee. The world was growing obsessed with technology and science, new gods that he had little love for. He wanted to live in the wilds, to know the feel of primal joy in his heart once more. Brogan traveled to Africa, to the dark rainforests. He became as a wild-man, and lived off what he could hunt and forage. He stopped speaking human languages, and used simple tools and what he could make in the wilds from natural materials to survive. Many that know his history speculate that was the inspiration for the 1912 novel, Tarzan. He became aware of the events in Europe during the First World War, and was drawn to the continent of the Europe once again, and arrived there in the summer of 1920. He ended up in France and enjoying the post-war atmosphere. Apparently democracy had won a triumph against monarchy, and that was cause for celebration, especially Stateside, where the Roaring 20's were not seemingly slowed down by Prohibition. He didn't stay in France long, and he traveled to the US once more, to enjoy the years of revelry. It had been some time since he had enjoyed debauchery western style. He had danced with many tribes of Africa, but there was something about the speakeasy world that seemed more like what he needed. In time, the good times stopped rolling, the stock market crashed, and the country entered a dark period of famine and despair known to posterity as the Great Depression. It was in the '30s that Brogan saw himself awaken to the realization that the word was once again heading toward another great conflict. He watched the rise of Adolph Hitler, and the work of the American and British leaders carefully. He saw the players dance their way through the prelude to war, and saw a movement of fascism sweep the European continent. Brogan would see himself tested once more, and he looked forward to it. In the meantime, he had established himself as a farmer in upstate New York, building himself a farmhouse in the town of Cold Springs. He was then known as Desmond Kilvayne, and he wrote a will that stipulated that the property would be inherited by the New York City Kilvaynes upon the death of one Desmond Athanasius Kilvayne. When the war came, Desmond Kilvayne (Brogan) joined the US Marine Corp, and was eventually assigned to active duty in the Pacific theater after declaration of war on the Axis powers by the United States in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He fought in the Pacific from Guam, Midway, to the Philippines, and to the triumphant conquest of Iwo Jima. During this time, he made friends with another Marine in the Corps, by the name of Major Elias Henry Grant. Elias Grant was born and raised in Missouri. They were good friends throughout the war, and on more than one field they had saved each others lives. Before retiring from military service Brogan achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant. When the war was won, he returned home and was at a loss for what to do in the post-war era. His friend had a family, and Brogan had no interest in following that path (again). He traveled to the Pacific Northwest, where he built a cabin in the remote wilderness, to live off the land. For the ensuing dec ades, there was a continuous rash of sightings in the area near his cabin, reports of an ape-man, known as "Bigfoot" and "Sasquatch". Brogan decided to exploit the longstanding legend to cover his movements. When he needed to be near civilization he dressed in furs and matted his hair, and had the appearance of an unknown animal. This went well for several decades, until the year 2011 came around. Bigfoot started to maul and eat people. This distressed Brogan, because he wasn't behind this. He decided to follow the rumors he had heard among hunters and other outdoors adventurers, and soon began tracking the rival wild-man's movements. When he found the rival, he saw the man had a feral appearance, and a fierce demeanor. He also could s mell Brogan coming. The two wild-men battled in the Pacific forest, and by the end of it, both had become severely fatigued by the struggle. In the time spent catching their breath, they conversed in Norwegian. Lars Erikson and Brogan became friends, and Lars convinced Brogan to venture back into civilization. A great many things had happened over the last few years, notably the outing of "specials", evolved humans that possessed superhuman abilities. Brogan recalled the writings of Charles Darwin, and questioned his belief that he was in fact the descendant of a god. He needed to explore the new world to learn the truth of things. he found his way to New York, and saw that his descendants had built themselves an empire. The irony astounded him. Kilvaynes had always had a place in empires, and over time they had risen and fallen. Now they had built their own. He had to laugh at the strange world he would be living in now. His new friend has a criminal bent, and it seems he would like to introduce Brogan to the underworld. Brogan has reservations about how honorable such a path is. Forum History END OF VOLUME VI Brogan's friend Lars Erikson had a run in with Marcus Grant and the woman he was recruiting into the Company, a girl named Sparrow Akiyama. He knocked Marcus out, unaware that the man was the descendant of his old war buddy Elias. He apologized to Sparrow for the way his friend had behaved, and the pair moved on to New York. In New York, he encountered Lucius Kilvayne, and the rest of that man's family. One particular incident was when he met Priscilla Kilvayne, a little girl that would not allow him entry into her home. He was vexed, and in rage, kicked in her door. Not wanting to harm the girl, he stomped off looking for a fight. Later, he contacted his former lover, Elena. She revealed that her current identity was Sayeva Reardon. They made plans to meet up in New York. There they discussed the ages they had been apart, their abilities and what to make of the present. The reunion was joyous indeed. She was not long on her way back to San Diego, where she lived with her sister Sophie Nystrom. He made plans to move there once he had made the proper arrangements. His plane, however, crashed during the Solar Storm, and he was stranded in Nebraska for a few weeks. He eventually made it to San Diego. VOLUME VII His arrival in San Diego was greeted with a mixed reception. Say was overjoyed, and Sophie was clearly irritated. He soon settled in, and now he resides there with the women. He looks forward to whatever adventures the trio might have in the future. He is also trying to make it through the experience without having to murder Sophie too many times. Category:Neutral Category:Characters Category:Immortals